


Taste

by dw_yooniverse



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:47:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23118712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dw_yooniverse/pseuds/dw_yooniverse
Summary: He searched high and low for a particular taste he missed: her dishes.
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 12





	Taste

_"A recipe has no soul."_

* * *

Smoothly, the pen slid across the surface of a folded piece of paper. Names of restaurants, both well-known and hidden gems, were written neatly. Half of the names were crossed out and another one had joined the list. As the number of wiped out restaurants increased, the frown on the paper’s owner deepened.

As he settled the bill, he couldn’t help but question himself and his actions.

_Is this worth the time, effort, and every penny I spend?_

Every time, the answer was always **yes**. It didn’t matter if some of the food bills he paid were worth a month’s savings. It didn’t matter if he had to travel for hours to check one of the places on his list. At the end of the day, what was important was he felt that he was a step closer to what he was looking for.

Still, the lingering question was always there. Was he really closer?

“No good?”

He glanced up, gaze leaving the phone on his hand. The moment he stepped out of the restaurant his eyes fell on Jae’s concerned features. One tug on the corner of his lips told Jae that the meal was from what he was searching for.

“I don’t get it, Brian,” Jae uttered as the two of them started walking away from the restaurant. “That’s, like, one of the best restaurants in the city. It’s always booked and it took you a month to get a reservation but it’s _still_ not it.”

“The food was good,” Brian commented, a consolation at best. “But it’s not the taste I’m looking for.”

His friend tutted, a shake of his head directed towards Brian. Jae didn’t say more, knowing full well that his words wouldn’t change the other’s mind. Once Brian was set on something, he wasn’t going to stop until he gets whatever it was.

Three months later, he had exhausted the list he made. All locations had been crossed out but none of them gave him what he wanted—what he yearned to taste again. Not one dish was close to tickling his palette the way _her_ _dishes_ did.

Part of him knew that what he had done was a shot in the dark but he couldn’t help the disappointment that creeped into his veins. In the back of his head, he knew that no one could make the dishes she made. No one could bring forth the emotions he felt and the memories he had while eating the meals she prepared.

But he tried.

And failed.

Now, he was back to square one. He was back in his home, sitting on the bar stool facing his kitchen with his mind playing with him.

Her voice rang in his ear, as if she was right beside him, telling him about her new creation. He Brian could almost see her faint figure moving mindfully around his kitchen with a smile on her lips. The image of her cradled multiple ingredients in her arms before gently splaying them on the wide, marble countertop.

She raised her head, eyes looking into his. Her lips moved, mouthing words he couldn’t hear. Slowly, the smile on her lips faded. Her figure blurred until it totally disappeared from his sight.

His heart dropped, lips trembling slightly as he sighed.

It’s been so long. Some of her features were hazy. Even her voice was something he couldn’t remember clearly. It pained him how he could forget someone who made his days brighter—someone who gave him something to look forward to each day.

“I miss you,” he wanted to tell her.

“Come back.” He’d beg if he had to.

It just wasn’t possible anymore. All he could hold onto were memories of her and them together.

Maybe that was why he was so desperate to find a meal that gave off the same flavors as hers. He wanted to find tastes that would remind him of those moments they had because it was all he could keep of her. By finding something that has the same flavor, he could have a tighter hold on those memories that were fading.

Brian thought about it. If no restaurant could emulate what he was looking for, then maybe a home-cooked meal would. With a renewed resolve, he got off the stool he sat on and rummaged through the drawers around him. If memory served him well, he placed a notebook in one of them.

A small smile broke on his lips when he found it. The small notebook was a little worn out and littered with dust. After all, it had been a long time since he moved it.

Brian shifted through the pages until he landed on his favorite recipe of hers: a vegetable rice burger. He could almost smell and taste it. _Almost._

That ‘almost’ pushed him to check for ingredients. He moved quickly. A mixture of excitement and nervousness were running through his veins. He was looking forward to recreating her own dish but he was afraid the he wouldn’t give it any justice. Yet he pushed on and place his best effort.

He wasn’t a bad cook but he wasn’t as good and skilled as her. Some of his cuts were sloppy while her were precise. He didn’t let that faze him. He continued until he had set up a decent looking rice burger.

The aroma was familiar but he knew that it didn’t smell the same way. It was close. Another _almost._

The plating was okay. At least, it wasn’t falling apart like he had imagined. He couldn’t help but think of how she would plate it. Surely, she would put some garnish to make it more appealing.

The taste… He gulped. That, he wasn’t sure of. He followed the instructions up until the last detail but taste was something fragile. Without the proper care, it wouldn’t come out in the way he wanted it to.

Bracing himself, he finally took a bite. Brian tried to make it count by chewing slowly to savor the taste.

With pursed lips, he pushed the plate with the burger on it away. He eyed it. He wondered what he did wrong.

“Even when I followed her recipe, I still couldn’t get it,” he mumbled, his shoulders hunching forward. He kept on looking at the food warily as he thought harder.

Out of nowhere, her words from before hit him like a truck. _‘A recipe has no soul. It’s the cook who brings the soul to the recipe.’_

It was true. He chuckled. How could he forget when it was something she always told him?

Brian felt a little foolish to look for her own soul—her heart that she poured into the meals she made before—in the dishes of others. He should’ve realized it sooner that he would never find the same exact taste he was looking for. He was too hung up on the idea of holding onto memories through food because it’s what she left for him to remember.

When they parted ways due to unsolved differences, she told him to go and explore more flavors because there was so much more out there than what she gave him. Yet, stubborn Brian held onto hers for dear life.

He held on because he was afraid to move on. He didn’t want to forget her; to forget them. The man wanted to hold on for as long as he could but it was impossible. Deep down, he knew that he couldn’t keep himself confined in the universe he curated around memories of her.

As he looked at the unfinished burger, he nodded to himself. It was time to let go and to dive into a world without her.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since I last wrote a narrative so I feel that this one is a bit stiff and rough on the edges. I'm kind of nervous about putting up this one but here it is. It's my first time to write a narrative for DAY6 too so... Haha. I'll keep on writing more to practice. Hopefully, they do get better. :)
> 
> The idea came from this Twitter AU prompt: https://twitter.com/youngksday_/status/1216243246763929601


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